CHEMINS D’HISTOIRE
Battlefield Guided Tours

Olivier Dirson

20 Rue Gabriel Fauré
02100 Saint-Quentin (Aisne) France

Siret number : 512 248 816 00013
Lecturing-Guide license number : 10-02-006-P
Transport license number : 2009/22/ 0000399



                                                                  

Olivier, your bilingual specialized guide, is a member of the Somme Battlefields' Partner label and an official guide of Towns and Countries of Art and History  licensed by the French Ministry of Culture

• Chemins d'Histoire review on Francerevisited.com by  Gary Lee Kraut, click here

Telephone :
+33 (0)3 23 67 77 64
+33 (0)6 31 31 85 02

Email  :
contact@cheminsdhistoire.com

Chemins d'Histoire is a company complying all the legal requirements in force

• Map (road directions)

to reach us :
• from Paris
• from Lille
• from London

You can easily reach us by train from Paris, many trains daily from Paris Gare du Nord station to St.Quentin or Amiens.
You can book your tickets on this website : www.tgv-europe.com



TESTIMONIALS

We were very please to be met at our hotel in Amiens by Olivier, who knew who we were immediatly  and was very prompt in introducting himself and directing us to his well kept mini-bus, to commence our battlefields tour. We were spoiled to have his full attention on the tour, for although there was seating in the bus for  about 5 others, it was only my partner and myself  on the tour. Olivier immediatly began summarising a little of the history of Amiens, as we headed out of town to Villers-Bretonneux. We were both very impressed with Olivier's war history knowledge and his hability to remember facts and figures, including number of soldiers involved in the battles, number injured, deaths, specific to countries, battalions and also the stories and knowledge of the photos, people in the photos and the local area that added a really special touch.
Eleven out of ten Olivier! We walked away from your tour with a better understanding of the hardships and suffering faced by the soldiers in the Great War,but also feeling enriched by the history and stories you shared and inspired by the passion of your delivery. We highly recommend you join Olivier for a tour of the Somme battlefields.

Lesley and Sarah, Australia, December 2011

Olivier, we just wanted to say thank you for a truly fascinating and stimulating day with you in the Somme battlefields. Your knowledge and passion as well as attention to detail for the areas was so important in making this such a memorable day out. We would certainly recommend your tours to anyone coming to the Somme and wanting an understanding of the significance of the area.

Matt, Phil and David, London, England, November 2011

Dear Olivier, Thank you so much for the lovely day driving in the valley of the Somme. We came wanting to trace our grandfathers memorials and pay our respects but you gave us so much more. It was a day we will always remember and treasure and try to share with our families. We were so impressed at the respect for the soldiers who had battled on the front and you knowledgeable and unbiased descriptions. We could not imagine that we could have had a better guide and teacher.

Janice, Margaret and Norman, Australia, September 2011

Olivier, thank you for the wonderful tour you provided for Saskia and I. I really appreciated the tour of the area were my Grandfather fought, it was very sentimental. Your tour was informative and worth every cent. I would highly recommend your tours to anyone. Thanks again, hope to see you again.

Andrew and Saskia, Australia, October 2011

My husband and 2 sons age 13 and 10 spent a day doing the Australian tour of the WW1 battlefields. They had a thoroughly enjoyable day  and Olivier the guide had a terrific knowledge of the various battlefields and a real passion for the history. Olivier tailored the trip to focus on the area of interest. Would highly recommend Olivier's tour

Peter and Donna, Australia, September 2011

I highly recommend Olivier. this is a big emotional day out. We took 3 teenagers, and although they switched on and off, we're sure they did appreciate some of the information, and certainly the memorials, cemeteries and landscape. Olivier was knowledgeable and interesting. He was able to find family members with very little warning, having good access to databases. His company is well worth using.

Craig, Louise and Family, Australia, September 2011

Just a quick note to say how much we enjoyed the visit to the Picardy region, thank you so much for your expertise. We are so glad we eventually met you, and will certainly recommend tour to all at home.

Julie and John, Australia, October 2011

Hello Olivier, Just a short note to thank you for the tour you gave me on 13 September. I did really enjoy it and will have not hesitattion to recommend you in future should any of my friends be coming to Amiens and require a tour. I did like your style and knowledge of the conflicts and wish you well for the future.

Ray, Melbourne, September 2011

Hello Olivier, we are now back in Australia, we would like to thank you for the most informative tour of the WW1 battlefields, and our trip to the Grevillers cemetery, to bring back photos and memories of loved ones to share, your knowledge was outstanding and have no hesitation in recommending your tour company, thank again for a wonderful day.

Bruce and Robyn, Australia, September 2011

We would like to tell you how much we enjoyed our day tour with you. We cannot imagine a more comprehensive or interesting program. You provided us with a wealth of information in a very pleasant and exciting manner. Great value and we will certainly be recommending to you to our friends back in Australia Best wishes and many thanks.

 Lynne and Tony, Australia, September 2011

Hi Olivier, We are back in Australia and have had time to go through our thousands of holiday photos. We wanted to thank you again for our tour and helping us visit the war graves of lost relatives. The photos look really good and will provide us and our families with many memories. Thank you,
 
Mark & Debbie, Australia, June 2011

We did a day tour of the Somme battlefields with Olivier in May 2011. He met us at our hotel and we immediately felt we were in good hands. Our particular interest was the Australian involvement. A relative had been in the Australian 2nd division so we had a particular interest in that aspect. Olivier had done research for us (and we had had email discussions in advance) and tailored the tour accordingly. He provided a detailed historic background to the various sites, major and minor, that he took us too. He was extremely knowledgeable and obviously loved his work. Both his Francophone and his Anglophone customers were very satisfied with the tour. Along with kindly offering thorough advice on accomodation to suit our budget and needs, he was also able to provide baby seats for the 2 smallest tourists. Olivier dropped us at St. Quentin station with all our gear in good time for our evening train. One of our very best days in France. 
 
 Aurélie, Evan, Thomas and Paul -Sydney, Australia, May 2011

Bonjour Oliver, We had a fabulous time with you in France and we really appreciated you taking us around the battlefields. That was a great experience for us. Your explanations of the the battles was truly exceptional and your knowledge is remarkable in its detail. Both Regina and I really do appreciate all your efforts in picking us up, taking us on the tour and dropping us off at the rail station. Bye for now.
 
 Eric and Regina, Australia, August 2011

Dear Olivier, Thank you so much for the lovely day driving in the valley of the Somme. We came wanting to trace our grandfathers memorial and pay our respects but you gave us so much more. It was a day we will always remember and treasure and try to share with our families. We were so impressed at the respect for the soldiers who had battled on the front and you knowledgeable and unbiased descriptions.

We were so surprised at the great concentration of the war in one small area where soldiers came from France, Australia, Britain, South Africa and Newfoundland to battle. So many to die and we still wonder why. We were saddened by the great losses of the French in the scotched earth policy and the black and grey crosses for German soldiers. We could not imagine that we could have had a better guide and teacher. Thank you.

 Janice, Margaret and Norman, Australia, June 2011

Dear olivier, Just a few lines to thank you for your passion and knowledge during our battlefield tour of Northern France, it remains a special memory now that we are home. The actual fields of battle and the number of lives lost are hard to comprehend unless you visit them.

Corrie, Gary and Nola, Australia, June 2011

Bonjour Olivier, On behalf of John and I we want to thank you for an outstanding tour of the Somme with you. It was a day we will never forget. Your professionalism, incredible knowledge and friendly manner made the trip for us a huge success. We would also like to thank you for going the extra miles for us, and helping us to locate where my Great Great Uncle would have spent his last few days before passing away on the Somme as well as being able to visit his grave at Heilly.
Kia ora, nga mihi aroha ki a koe

John and Awerangi, New Zealand

Olivier, Thank for the tour. Exactly what we wanted. Really interesting and helped by the pieces fall into place. Names on banner on Anzac Day and memorials have a greater meaning. Thanks again.

Stephen, Australia, June 2011

Olivier, Thanks again and much appreciated. We thoroughly enjoyed our day with you, and wish you all the very best.

Robert, Australia, June 2011

I have just spent 2 days touring the battlefields with Olivier. What a fantastic experience. I was picked up from my hotel in Lille and driven to see numerous battlefields including the ones in Belgium and France. Olivier is a very kind and considerate man who knows his subject well and has a tremendous enthusiasm and passion for the 1914-18 conflict, as well as an extensive knowledge of the facts etc. He is totally committed to providing the information the tourist wants and goes out of his way to oblige. I found Olivier to have a very good sense of humour and very pleasant company to be with. I am delighted to have found him and do not hesitate in recommending him to you. I know you will not be disappointed.

 Mary-Ann, Australia, March 2011

Olivier, just wanted to say thanks for the battlefields tour on the 25th we found it extremely informative. We appreciated that you were able to adapt the tour to locate graves of family members and allowed us the time we needed.  Thanks also for your prompt replies to my EMails which gave me confidence in your service considering l had to  organize things from the other side of the world. Thanks once again.

 Frank & Wendy, Australia, March 2011



PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION  
These cities are acccessible using the following means of transportation :

Paris - St-Quentin : by train
Lille - St-Quentin : by train
London - St-Quentin : by train (Eurostar from London St Pancras to TGV Haute Picardie station)
Albert : by plane (Leeds to Albert Picardie Airport).
Beauvais : by plane (several routes linking Ireland, Britain and the Beauvais regional airport)



We are Somme Battlefields' Partner, a label created by the Comité Départemental du Tourisme de la Somme, Chamber of Commerce of Péronne, the Somme 1916 Museum and the Historial de la Grande Guerre of Péronne. The purpose of the label is to provide a reference guaranteeing a quality welcome throughout the territory.

 “Battlefield Tours”  Visites guidées des champs de Bataille :  Somme - Picardie - Artois

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